Of Tag and Trees
by EmilyTheStranger
Summary: The X-Men decide to play Mutant Tag... but Logan and Kurt get stuck in an 'awkward position'. Logan/Kurt Not nearly as bad as it sounds


"Alright," Scott began his arms crossed as he leaned against a tree. "Here are the rules: If you get tagged by Jean or myself, you have to sit in the circle of losers." Here, he gestured to a hula hoop on the grass. "If you're in the circle of losers, you _stay _in the circle of losers. Nobody can have so much as a toe out of the hoop…got it?" The rest of the X-Men nodded, some rather sullenly. "The only way to get out of the circle of losers is if you are tagged by someone who is still in play. You can use your powers for anything except getting yourself out of the circle of losers. Is everyone ready?" He looked around the group expectantly, and everyone nodded again. "Okay, Jean and I will give you until the count of 30 to get away. Ready…set… Go!"

--

Kurt bamfed away as soon as Scott said go, reappearing atop a tall oak tree in the middle of the forest. He peered through the leaves at the forest floor and looked for any sign of Scott or Jean. Upon realizing that he was alone, he clambered noisily down to the ground and began to walk across the sun-dappled ground. The leaves rustled beneath his bare feet and he wiggled his toes in the moist earth. He liked being out in the forest, feeling nature all around him. He smiled and looked towards the sun, partially covered by the lush green leaves. He stood there in a trance for a few moments, but was reawakened by the snap of a twig behind him. He turned, expecting to see Scott or Jean, but instead saw Logan, stalking amongst the trees with an angry look on his face.

He ran over to the other man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Guten tag, Logan!" He said. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" Logan looked at him, morose.

"Why do we have to do this?" He groaned , taking a drag off of his cigar.

"It's training, and it's fun." Kurt said, shrugging. "Lighten up a bit, mein Freund." Logan groaned and continued walking, and Kurt followed.

"We could team up, you know." He said lightly.

"Hate to tell you, but that wouldn't help either of us, bub." Logan said flatly. Kurt shrugged.

"Safety in numbers?" He said hopefully, smiling at the older man.

" Do what you want. Just try not to jeopardize the mission." He continued walking as Kurt laughed.

"This isn't a mission, Logan. It's just a game." He grinned, showing his pointed teeth.

"A game to evaluate our skills, elf. And I don't intend to lose." Kurt shrugged and jogged to catch up.

"Fair enough." They walked in silence for a few minutes before Logan extended his arm to signal Kurt to stop walking. He sniffed the air, looking around cautiously.

"They're close." He muttered, just loud enough for Kurt to hear. "Teleport us somewhere safe." Kurt nodded and grabbed the other man's arm, quickly bamfing them to the top of the tree that he had been sitting in before.

Logan took a quick look around before deciding that their position was good. He then reclined on the branch, leaning against the tree's thick trunk. Kurt straddled the branch, wrapping his tail around it, and looked at Logan.

"So…" he began, the spade of his tail flicking a leaf. Logan looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah?" Kurt shrugged and looked down, not really having anything he had wanted to say. He resolved himself to idly watching a squirrel scurry in and out of its nest and listening to the wind rustle the leaves around him. As he was beginning to lose himself to the stillness of the world around him, he felt a rough hand grab his arm and pull him across the branch. It was Logan, who had pulled him so close that he could taste the smoke drifting from his cigar.

"What?" Kurt hissed. Logan held up a hand to the teleporter's mouth and pointed at the ground, where Jean was wandering absently. Kurt nodded in understanding, unraveling his tail and pulling it closer to avoid being seen. They both watched Jean as she meandered through the clearing, and as she finally disappeared into the forest. When he was sure she was out of earshot, Logan took a long drag off of his cigar and sighed with relief as the smoke filled his lungs. Kurt cringed at the thought, but said nothing. He moved to pull himself away from Logan, but found himself quite stuck. He hadn't noticed it in the tenseness of the moment, but as Jean was walking around the clearing, Logan had moved his hand onto Kurt's back, holding him where he was.

Kurt couldn't recall ever being so close to the other man before, and it made him nervous. His face was inches away from Logan's chest and their legs were almost intertwined. He swallowed anxiously and tried to pull away again.

"Herr Logan?" He mumbled, trying to reposition his hands so they were farther from his friend's body.

"Yeah?" Logan said gruffly, his hand still pushing Kurt closer. Kurt tried to respond, but was silenced by the reapplication of pressure from Logan's hand.

"Nothing." He murmured, looking down at the rough bark of the branch. He felt Logan shrug, then take another breath of smoke, exhaling the cloud above Kurt's head. He could feel Logan's breath in his hair, and it made him uneasy.

'I wonder, does he even notice where he has me stuck?' Kurt thought, still staring a hole into the branch. 'I mean, he must not notice… this isn't like him… It's probably just—_Ach!_' He was startled out of his reverie by the feeling of Logan's hand drifting onto his lower back. His amber eyes widened with surprise and confusion.

"Herr Logan…?" He started once more, still unable to look up. He could feel the burning of blush on his cheeks, and the tensing of his muscles from embarrassment.

"What?" Logan said in his normal rough tone.

"Um…" Kurt tried to think of what to say, but words failed him once more. "It's nothing. Nothing at all." He said. Logan didn't pry any farther, leaving Kurt to his thoughts once more. He settled himself on the branch and rested his head absentmindedly on Logan's shoulder, thinking the same thoughts as before. 'Ach… Gott helfe mir!'

They stayed in that awkward pose for what seemed like hours before the sickening crack of their perch startled them both. The branch snapped and they both tumbled to the ground, unable to think fast enough to help themselves. They landed in a tangled heap on the forest floor, and Scott tagged them both mockingly on the heads.

"Gotcha." He said, tapping his glasses playfully to indicate that he had broken the branch with his laser. "Sorry I had to interrupt such a beautiful moment." He jeered. "Now it's off to the loser's circle for the both of you."

--

Kurt stared into his cereal, jabbing at the flakes with his spoon. He couldn't look at Logan even now, though it had already been a day since the 'incident'. He didn't know if Logan even remembered, but he didn't want to take his chances by bringing it up.

'Maybe it was more innocent than I suspected…" he thought, still staring at his food. 'Maybe I'm overreacting? That must be it. I'm just being stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid." He lifted his head and looked at Logan with determination not to look down again, but to no avail. Logan had been staring at him. His head shot back down to his cereal. He prayed that Logan wouldn't say anything, but God overruled him.

"What's wrong with you?" Logan asked gruffly. Kurt squeaked out what was supposed to be a nothing, but came out unintelligible. He heard the screech of Logan's chair moving, and then they heavy footfall of his walking. He saw a hand rest on the table next to his bowl.

"Tell me what's wrong with you. You've been like this for two days now." Kurt looked up slightly.

"It's nothing, really."

--

Logan growled inwardly. 'I knew that was a bad idea… why the hell did I do it?' He clenched his fist on the back of Kurt's chair and glared at the tiles on the floor. 'Now he thinks I'm a pervert. Great. Just _great._' His eyes wandered to the spade of Kurt's tail, which was drawing circles in the air. He wanted to reach out and grab it, to make it stop moving. He didn't want to be reminded of what he couldn't have. Not now; not ever.

"Look, elf… if this is about what happened in the forest yesterday…" He gritted his teeth when he heard Kurt squeak with what sounded like fear. "That _is _what this is about, isn't it?" He said tersely. "Well, you know, that wasn't what you think. I was just trying to keep us from being seen. I don't need you to go off thinking I was coming on to you or something. God, why would I ever… _God_." He stormed out of the kitchen and plopped himself down on a chair in the next room.

He groaned and swung his feet up onto the coffee table. "That went well." He muttered to himself as he flipped the TV on. "Goddamned elf…" He sank deeper into the chair, grumbling. "Goddamn him, the German, religious, blue, fuzzy… _elf_."

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, Herr Logan." A voice from the door said. Logan jumped and looked behind him to Kurt, who stood in the doorframe.

"What is it now?!" Logan snapped. "I told you I wasn't coming on to you or—" He was cut off by a loud bamf and the reappearance of Kurt in front of him.

"I know. I just wanted to apologize for making you mad, that's all." He grinned his devilish little grin and flicked his tail in the air.

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry about it." Logan grunted and looked back at the TV. "I just didn't want you to think that I was trying to do stuff to ya back there." He said vacantly, as he changed the channel.

"Of course! I knew you weren't trying to—"

"He was coming on to you." Scott called from the hall as he walked by. Logan's face flooded with rage and he jumped up from the chair.

"I dare you to say that again, you worthless little prat!" He yelled, running to the hall. "I'll kill you!" He snarled, unsheathing his claws. Kurt quickly bamfed over to the enraged man and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself, Herr Logan. Don't worry about him. He will pay for his sins at the hands of God and God alone." Logan looked at Kurt and withdrew his claws.

"Sure he will." He scowled, taking one last glare down the hall before allowing himself to be led to the couch. Kurt sat down next to him and stared at the TV vaguely. For a while, the only sound in the room was the TV and the occasional rustle of fabric as one of them shifted on the couch. Kurt broke the silence with an awkward forced cough to catch Logan's attention.

"Just so you know, Herr Logan, if you _were_ coming on to me, and I'm not saying that you were… well, you know, that would have been okay, I suppose."

There was a bit more silence, but somehow it was much heavier. Logan shifted on the couch and looked up at the ceiling before looking over at Kurt.

"Good to know." He said as gruffly as he could. The heavy silence overtook them again. Kurt reached out his hand slowly and placed it in the empty space between them. It stayed there alone for a few moments before Logan took his hand and placed it on top. And with a light and peaceful comfort, the silence drove on.


End file.
